NATIONAL FOREST TIMBER CUT VOLUME

Logging of national forests peaked in 1987, the same year environmental groups sued the Reagan administration to protect the Northern spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act. While other changes to the logging industry contributed to the decline in logging, the spotted owl case and subsequent Northwest Forest Plan had broad consequences for the timber industry and rural communities dependent upon the national forests in the Pacific Northwest. For more information on logging, see Chapter 2 on the public lands. For an interactive graph on cut and sold timber statistics from the national forests, visit the Headwaters Economics website.